Journal launch enables oncology education and quality improvement
December 18, 2025
Medically Reviewed | Last reviewed by on December 18, 2025
How do you make your work more efficient without reinventing the wheel?
That¡¯s what radiation oncologist was trying to figure out: was there a way to help improve wellness in his area by reducing inefficient processes in the clinic? Could he connect with others who were working on process improvement and apply what they¡¯d learned to his own team?
Since he works at MD Anderson in Sugar Land full-time, he knew he was less likely to come across projects from other clinical locations by happenstance.
¡°I couldn¡¯t find any central repository for improvement projects, but I knew they were happening,¡± he says. ¡°I asked our librarians if there¡¯d be interest in a collection of process improvement projects and learned they were working on something even bigger.¡±
A first-of-its-kind journal
Shah joined with our Research Medical Library and Education and Alumni Relations teams to help form MD Anderson¡¯s first academic journal, Advances in Cancer Education and Quality Improvement (ACE-QI). He serves as deputy editor-in-chief and has seen first-hand the great work happening in different departments across MD Anderson, as well as from multidisciplinary teams across the country.
¡°ACE-QI shows the possibilities we have at MD Anderson when we combine our expertise for something greater,¡± Shah says. ¡°Between our invaluable librarians and expert editorial board, we created the first journal of its kind from a comprehensive cancer center.¡±
ACE-QI¡¯s first issue by the numbers
- 19 articles?published in the first issue, submitted by?131 authors?from?14 institutions?
- 43 peer reviewers?helped review and approve articles for publication??
- Readers from?131 countries
Widespread impact
ACE-QI launched in May 2025 to rave reviews. Articles were downloaded from more than 130 countries, bringing the expertise of our faculty, nurses, pharmacists and more to a global audience. Unique among academic journals, ACE-QI doesn¡¯t charge a fee to read the articles or to submit a manuscript for consideration.?
There¡¯s huge enthusiasm to have projects featured in ACE-QI where they can be seen by a wide audience, Shah notes. And with the library providing coaching for first-time authors, high-quality projects and information can now be shared on a global scale.?
¡°I¡¯m proud so many new authors have published their work in ACE-QI,¡± Shah says. ¡°There¡¯s excitement to seeing your work shared widely, and also a very real possibility that your transformative project will make a big difference to someone else who adapts your work to help their own team.¡±?
Read MD Anderson¡¯s academic journal at our?.
ACE-QI shows the possibilities we have at MD Anderson when we combine our expertise for something greater.
Shalin Shah, M.D.
Physician